A new Northport school system would take 10 of county’s 34 schools

Tuscaloosa County schools superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Swinford, pictured speaking with Holt community members about their ideas for a new Holt High School on Sept. 26, 2013, said it’s too early to know how a new Northport city school system would affect the county system.

Staff file photo | Michelle Lepianka Carter

By Jamon SmithStaff Writer

Published: Sunday, December 22, 2013 at 11:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, December 22, 2013 at 11:53 p.m.

With a feasibility study complete, it appears that the birth of a Northport city school system is a real possibility.

But what would that mean for the Tuscaloosa County School System?

Tuscaloosa County Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Swinford said it’s too early to fully answer that question. System officials haven’t thoroughly examined yet how the absence of Northport schools would affect the county school system, she said. But there are some obvious implications that don’t require research to figure out.

Swinford said that if the county system loses those schools and Sprayberry, that would mean losing 10 of the system’s 34 schools. She said the system’s total number of students, personnel and funding would also drop dramatically.

“We would lose hundreds of employees and between about 4,000 to 5,000 students,” she said. “We have roughly 18,000 kids in the system now. Northport doesn’t have to hire those employees that are currently working in those schools. If they don’t, we would have to do a reduction in force (layoffs).”

Swinford said the way the county school system would handle Sprayberry would be particularly challenging. Sprayberry is a centralized program for children with special needs. The program’s students are drawn from throughout the county, but the center is in Northport. The center could be relocated to the vacant Lloyd Wood in the next few years, but Lloyd Wood is also in Northport.

“Those kids are from all over the county, and I would still be responsible for those kids there that aren’t from Northport,” Swinford said.

With the loss of thousands of students, the system would experience a significant loss in state funding. The state provides school systems with a large portion of their funding based on student enrollment.

Tuscaloosa County Schools chief financial officer Danny Higdon said he hasn’t yet calculated exactly how much of a financial loss that would mean in state funding. But Higdon said the county system would lose at least $250,000 in local funds.

“What we get from Northport is approximately $250,000 every year for the bond issue of the new Tuscaloosa County High School,” Higdon said. “Years ago, the city of Northport voted to extend property tax, and part of that property tax went to public safety and part of it went to education.”

A state-mandated sharing of a 2-cent sales tax collected locally for education now allocates 20 percent of that money to the Tuscaloosa City Schools and 20 percent to the Tuscaloosa County Schools. That allocation also would have to change to include a Northport city school system, the feasibility study said. That change would not result in any tax increase.

Higdon said he doesn’t believe that adding a Northport schools system to the sales tax distribution would hurt the county system.

“I think we would still get the same amount of money from regular sales tax if they broke out,” Higdon said.

Swinford said any loss of funding would hurt but that she understands why Northport officials are considering creating a separate system and appreciates how they’ve gone about it.

“Depending on how much money they take away from us, it will leave a dent in our budget and cause some damage,” Swinford said. “In a way, I applaud what they’re doing because they’re taking their time. The process they’re doing is very diligent. We wish them well in their endeavor, but of course our position is that we can work something out and they stay a part of the county school system.

“For many years, we’ve had the benefit of having a city in our county, and we’d like to preserve that. Out of selfishness, we’d say stay with us. There’s power in numbers and we’d like to continue that. But I understand. Either way, I hope there’s just good collaboration and that we work together.”

<p>With a feasibility study complete, it appears that the birth of a Northport city school system is a real possibility.</p><p>But what would that mean for the Tuscaloosa County School System?</p><p>Tuscaloosa County Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Swinford said it's too early to fully answer that question. System officials haven't thoroughly examined yet how the absence of Northport schools would affect the county school system, she said. But there are some obvious implications that don't require research to figure out.</p><p>“We would lose roughly one-third of our schools,” Swinford said. “We would possibly lose nine campuses, plus the Sprayberry Education Center and Lloyd Wood Middle, which is empty.”</p><p>If a Northport school system is created, it would likely consist of nine schools that are now part of the county system: Tuscaloosa County High, Echols Middle, Collins-Riverside </p><p>Middle, Northport Elementary, Huntington Place Elementary, Faucett-Vestavia Elementary, Matthews Elementary, Crestmont Elementary and Flatwoods Elementary schools.</p><p>Swinford said that if the county system loses those schools and Sprayberry, that would mean losing 10 of the system's 34 schools. She said the system's total number of students, personnel and funding would also drop dramatically. </p><p>“We would lose hundreds of employees and between about 4,000 to 5,000 students,” she said. “We have roughly 18,000 kids in the system now. Northport doesn't have to hire those employees that are currently working in those schools. If they don't, we would have to do a reduction in force (layoffs).”</p><p>Swinford said the way the county school system would handle Sprayberry would be particularly challenging. Sprayberry is a centralized program for children with special needs. The program's students are drawn from throughout the county, but the center is in Northport. The center could be relocated to the vacant Lloyd Wood in the next few years, but Lloyd Wood is also in Northport.</p><p>“Those kids are from all over the county, and I would still be responsible for those kids there that aren't from Northport,” Swinford said.</p><p>With the loss of thousands of students, the system would experience a significant loss in state funding. The state provides school systems with a large portion of their funding based on student enrollment.</p><p>Tuscaloosa County Schools chief financial officer Danny Higdon said he hasn't yet calculated exactly how much of a financial loss that would mean in state funding. But Higdon said the county system would lose at least $250,000 in local funds.</p><p>“What we get from Northport is approximately $250,000 every year for the bond issue of the new Tuscaloosa County High School,” Higdon said. “Years ago, the city of Northport voted to extend property tax, and part of that property tax went to public safety and part of it went to education.”</p><p>A state-mandated sharing of a 2-cent sales tax collected locally for education now allocates 20 percent of that money to the Tuscaloosa City Schools and 20 percent to the Tuscaloosa County Schools. That allocation also would have to change to include a Northport city school system, the feasibility study said. That change would not result in any tax increase.</p><p>Higdon said he doesn't believe that adding a Northport schools system to the sales tax distribution would hurt the county system. </p><p>“I think we would still get the same amount of money from regular sales tax if they broke out,” Higdon said.</p><p>Swinford said any loss of funding would hurt but that she understands why Northport officials are considering creating a separate system and appreciates how they've gone about it. </p><p>“Depending on how much money they take away from us, it will leave a dent in our budget and cause some damage,” Swinford said. “In a way, I applaud what they're doing because they're taking their time. The process they're doing is very diligent. We wish them well in their endeavor, but of course our position is that we can work something out and they stay a part of the county school system.</p><p>“For many years, we've had the benefit of having a city in our county, and we'd like to preserve that. Out of selfishness, we'd say stay with us. There's power in numbers and we'd like to continue that. But I understand. Either way, I hope there's just good collaboration and that we work together.”</p><p>Reach Jamon Smith at jamon.smith@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.</p>